This is it ladies and gentlemen, the final push. The brawl to have it
all (well until the next expansion). So stock up on those energy drinks
and have plenty of cash on hand for pizza delivery. FYI, it is a
documented fact that you can pay for a pizza and be back to leveling
during most flight paths, a lot of personal research went into that.
There is a good chance your hygiene will suffer during your final
grind. Showering is a luxury for those under 60, no time to worry about
that now. Additionally, feel free to call in sick to work if need be,
I’ll write you a note. Sorry, no passes for school.

Level 60-70 The Burning
Crusade

target="_blank">
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 150px; float: right;"
alt="" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/65262">Level
60 will allow you to enter the wondrous world of Outland. Yes, I know
you could get there at 58, but since I had to wait until 60 to get
there my first time you all can too.

I don’t know if I would consider the readers lucky for being
able to jump right into these next ten levels or not. The majority of
the WoW community had to wait just over two years to see levels 60-70.
OHHHH, but not you? You think you’re so special? Dang kids
these days. To be totally honest levels 60-70 are not a grand
departure from your previous leveling. Sure there are some
new zones, but there is nothing truly new to learn. You’ll
most likely just be passing through Outland on your way to Northrend.

At 60 you will have reached the pinnacle of achievement what WoW
players previous to The Burning Crusade release could have attained.
There is a certain something to be said for that. In a way many folks
starting to play WoW with two expansions released are at a bit of a
disadvantage. Many players had well over a year to experiment with
talent builds, researching factions, and crunching statistics numbers.
Current players will just have to forge ahead. On the plus side you
don't need to concern yourself with those notions until you hit 80.

There is one Shaman specific quest that players obtain, Material
Assistance. Actually this is a quest obtained prior to The Burning
Crusade at higher levels. This would have been a quest you begged to
group for to obtain the Skyfury Helm. Unfortunately it is actually a
chain quest that requires the group to head to Scholomance.
Since this a solo guide, NO GROUP FOR YOU.

One major consideration to keep in mind while leveling in Outland is
there are no class trainers in Outland. Do not concern yourself with
this fact too much. Even though there are new skills to be
learned at every level, they are not imperative to learn. Being a few
skill levels behind will not seriously impede your progress. Make the
trip to your class trainer when it is convenient for you. Shamans are
fortunate having Astral Recall, you can make it to your class trainer,
learn your skills, and head back to Outland every fifteen minutes if
that is your thing. This concept will apply to Northrend as well.

Be on the look out for Shattrath, the only major city in
Outland. It has portals to every major city, making travel
there a breeze. As with the class trainers, there are also no
Auction Houses in Outland. Just something to keep in mind if you're a
player who likes to play the Auction Houses. Shattrath is
also home to two warring factions, the Aldor and Scryer. Pre
WotLK players would choose which side they would like to align
themselves with, post WotLK this fact is essentially irrelevant. There
is not much for a level 80 to gain by grinding reputation with either
group. As the only major city in Outland, Shattrath is home to both
Alliance and Horde. Not much of thing to those on PVE
servers. For those of us who grew up on the mean streets of PvP
servers, this was quasi horrifying. I now had to share my inn
with the enemy, it took some getting used it. Fortunately you only need
to deal with this affront for a few levels, a couple of weeks at best.
Not the twenty-two months some of us had to endure.

Levels 70-80 The Wrath of
the Lich King

target="_blank">
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 200px; height: 150px; float: right;"
alt="" src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/65261">Once
you ding level 70 (or 68 for those of you in a rush) bid farewell to
Outland and head to your home cities for the journey to Northrend. Drop
those open quests and get moving, there will be ample quests to take
their place. You can always come back and finish them
later. As an added bonus you will be more powerful when you
do, and really hand some mobs their own heads. If your
experiences are anything like mine, there will be lots of creatures in
Outland you’ll be itching to payback. Yes, Ogres of Blade's
Edge, I'm talking to you.

WotLK in my opinion is the first true Expansion to WoW. Sure, there is
the same familiarity of levels 1-70. The game mechanics
really haven't changed, but you should notice a whole new "feel" to the
game. The game really kicks it up a notch at this point. As you play
you'll see what I mean, I don't want to ruin some of the surprises for
you.

Again since this a solo guide try to keep avoiding those group quests
and instances. The notable exception is you will see a number
of quests that have suggested number of players. Usually two or three
suggested. For the most part these quests can be soloed, with
a little smart play. Remember, you're a Shaman. Keep those heals moving
and those totems active. Conversely there are a number of
solo quests that I just couldn't seem to solo, I wish you folks better
luck with them than I had. Try not to get too focused on any
one quest; there are more than enough quests out there to take you
through 80. Advance your character a bit and come back and try those
quests again.

As with Outland, Northrend has a central hub city. The
magical mysterious floating city of Dalaran. And as with Outland it's
shared by the Alliance and the Horde. At least this time
there is a separate area for each. In each area there are portals back
to all major cities, including Shattrath. There is a quest line at 74
that allows the player to reach Dalaran. If you are fortunate
enough to have a mage friend open a portal for you, you can head there
a little earlier. It's really not necessary. You should be
able to handle all quests and mobs with your level 70 spells. Save the
trip to your trainer until you reach Dalaran.

As you progress to level 80, keep an eye on your Wrath of the Lich King
factions. With little to no additional effort on your part,
you will find yourself honored or revered with a couple.
Notably you will be revered with the Kalu’ak of
Moa’ki Harbor. Their quartermaster has a couple of
decent quality blue items for whichever Shaman build you choose.

Spell rotation 60-80

By this point the player should have a fairly good idea
what works for them. As such, stick with what has worked thus far for
you. Your spells don't change too much; they just get more and more
powerful. Just follow the basic spell rotation from the 40-60 leveling
guide, I won’t waste your time with it here.

What you will want to add into your rotation are those higher-end
talent abilities, or what I like to call Uber Talents. It just sounds
more sinister.

Spell rotation additions:

The following are available at level 60 with a little
creative use of the talent points. Try some of the free talent
calculators available online. Helps save of gold usage for respecing
your character.

Enhancement Build:Feral Spirit,
yell "RELEASE THE HOUNDS" and immediately create your own group of
three. No LFG needed. With just a three minute cool down,
Feral Spirit is the Enhancement Shaman’s newest bestest
friend. The player summons two spirit wolves to aid them in
dispatching their opponents. Both PVE and PVP mobs beware.

Elemental Build:Thunderstorm,
decent area effect spell. I leveled as enhancement so I can't
really say how many mobs you can effectively engage with this
spell. What I can tell you is at level 80 you can virtually
kill everything in Rage Fire Chasm with one Thunderstorm. Try it; there
is a real satisfaction to it.

Restoration Build:Riptide if
you are soloing as a restoration Shaman, well I really don’t
know what to say.

All builds:

Earth Elemental Totem,
your own personal tank. Combined with Feral Spirit, and followed with
some well placed chain lightning, a Shaman can easily take down
numerous mobs. I was engaging groups of 4 to 5 with no problem using
this combination.

Fire Elemental Totem
Some added DPS never hurts. Well at least it doesn't hurt
you. Let those enemies burn. The drawback is your Fire
Elemental is a bit of a weakling to damage. Keep those mobs off him and
he will serve you well.

The cool downs on these totems don't make them rotation worthy. Save
them for elite or suggested two player quests.

Hex, a level
80 spell. Polymorph Humanoid or Beast into a frog. Try this
spell out immediately. It’s a riot. Bonus treat, on a PvP
server, just run out to a low level area and Hex away. Enjoy
your opponents’ terror as they await a high level shock or
lightning bolt. Will they live or die? That decision is up to you.

Level 60-80 notables

Level 60:
Journeyman riding skill allows you the use of quicker land
mounts

Level 70:
Expert Riding is the point when flight is gained. Since you
can’t fly in Northrend until level 77 I would suggest just
skipping this for the moment. Questing through Northrend will grant you
more than enough gold to pay for this skill, your mount, and the
training to fly in Northrend

Level 74:
Access to Dalaran

Level 77:
Cold Weather Flying. Saddle up fly around Northrend and watch
those last few levels cruise on by.

Queue your inspirational music of choice, may I suggest the Prelude and
Main Title March to Superman the Movie. Congratulations, you've decided
to stay the course and obtained level 80. Blizzard would like to thank
you for your support, and the purchase of all expansions. So /salute
and congratulations on a job well done.

A couple of suggestions after you reach level 80:

Use sunglasses. If you’ve leveled like you
should, you haven’t seen the sun in awhile.

Make contact with friends and family let them know you're
still around.

Shower. Sure it didn’t matter while you pushing
through those levels. Trust me, those friends and family will thank you
for it.

Take a break and get some rest. You’re going to
need it for all the upcoming raiding.

To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our
World of Warcraft
Game Page.